Although I couldn't take photos of the casting process, I described it here earlier:

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdmiralBuck

After the mold cured completely, the walls were removed again, rubber carefully pried apart and master removed. To cast, a mixture of SmoothCast 300 resin was poured into one half of the mold. The other half was quickly placed over the first and rubber banded together as I rotated the mold by hand in all directions as the resin cured. This resin cures in about 4-6 minutes so you have to work pretty fast. The first casting came out pretty good but the bulk of resin had settled too much towards the top and the skin thickness was too thin along the sides. Adding a little more resin to the second casting and concentrating the rotation to the hull sides insured a much more even Lucky #2 cast.

Essentially I rotocasted the mold by turning it 360 degrees - by hand - in all directions as the resin cured to the walls of the mold.

Update on the Sentinel nacelles. These are being produced by Jeff at JT Graphics. Hopefully, he will be printing the 1:350 masters for me this week so I can then cast them for the pair I need. He has worked on replicating the design using his 3D software in order to grow the parts needed. The nacelle itself will consist of one forward section which will mate to itself when cast twice. The long tapered section will be made up of one outer half and one inner half with recessed grill channel. Locater pins, holes and alignment overlaps really help make this a professional-like model part. The front cap with consist of a clear dome, followed by a cowl and then the baffle rings. The end cap is a rescaled existing part JT sells for his 650 scale line of TOS mods. This will have transparent components (marked in red) for lighting.

I'm continually stunned by the "engineering artistry" in this project.
Will this be pressure-cast? (The tiny pins suggest to me that may be a helpful technique...)

Thanks! No, I don't have the ability to pressure cast the nacelle parts from the masters. These will most likely be two-part molds or I may simply slush-roto-cast the nacelle itself (minus the caps).

Speaking of propulsion, the next system undergoing engineering is the impulse engines. Originally, I was staying with the plans as drawn out months ago and mocked up a few foam prototypes to finalize, clean up and quickly cast. However, something had been bugging me about its placement so close to the secondary hull that I started sketching out some other solutions. I carved another prototype which I liked in some ways but still did not flow. It felt 'planted-on' and not integrated with the primary.

Next, I decided to incise the aft section of the primary and inset the impulse into the hull. Now, this idea is used on many Trek ships from the NX-01 to the Ent-D. Should it exist in a TOS-TMP era? I think I can TOS-ify a design. I sketched up a top view and a quick 3D garbage model to explore the ideas:

*Corporate mode on*
I fully endorse a "TOS-ification" of the NX-01/Ent-D impulse, and this proposed execution of the concept. *drinks coffee*
*Corporate mode off*

Going through Ships of the Star Fleet, I remember being amazed at the variations of "common" ships and subsystems-- different deflector grid patterns, the LN-68(?) warp engines, the SANTH impulse engine, etc.
This design here clearly bridges previous canon designs, as well as something "Shangri-La-ish"...
Watching the design iterations take place in an open forum like this give me confidence that the next time I design, I shouldn't get frustrated if I change things mid-stream.
Best-

Going through Ships of the Star Fleet, I remember being amazed at the variations of "common" ships and subsystems-- different deflector grid patterns, the LN-68(?) warp engines, the SANTH impulse engine, etc.
This design here clearly bridges previous canon designs, as well as something "Shangri-La-ish"...
Watching the design iterations take place in an open forum like this give me confidence that the next time I design, I shouldn't get frustrated if I change things mid-stream.
Best-

One of the things that I enjoy most about designing and building your own fictional ship is the ability to make it look like it belongs in an era using the design guidelines already established - and where there is some latitude for variation. Creating the "what if" in design is a kin to "exploring strange new worlds". You almost never know what you can find if you don't even try look for it. Although there is a frustrating aspect of creating something new yet familiar, there is a harmony that has to strike both yourself as the designer and the subject matter. The very thought of starships excite me so I have to build something that appeals to me. There is a challenge - almost like a Sudoku puzzle for me - that a natural design answer is already there waiting to be solved. Sometimes it's just the journey of problem solving a concept from start to finish that's rewarding. But there's never a time when I stop thinking about a change until it's too late. When that happens, you save that idea for the next new project, worry about making yourself happy first

[...] There is a challenge - almost like a Sudoku puzzle for me - that a natural design answer is already there waiting to be solved. Sometimes it's just the journey of problem solving a concept from start to finish that's rewarding. [...]

This reminds me of the (probably apocryphal) quote attributed to Michelangelo, ironically, quoted in Trek canon:

"You know what Michelangelo used to say? That the sculptures he made were already there before he started, hidden in the marble. All he needed to do was - ssht - remove the unneeded bits." - Dr. Noonien Soong, TNG, 'Brothers'

This reminds me of the (probably apocryphal) quote attributed to Michelangelo, ironically, quoted in Trek canon:

"You know what Michelangelo used to say? That the sculptures he made were already there before he started, hidden in the marble. All he needed to do was - ssht - remove the unneeded bits." - Dr. Noonien Soong, TNG, 'Brothers'

Peace-

I'm no Michelangelo, but there were still plenty of unneeded bits to remove.

I've got a room of resinheads here who will disagree with you on that point, at least within the world of Trek fanships. Shang and Wasp were among the best TMP-era designs since Mastercom Data Center designed my beloved Belknap (raises toast), and Sentinel will surely match them in spirit...